Side effect or pandemic? Choose your enemy, Sotto tells officials in charge of COVID-19 vaccine program

Government officials in charge of COVID-19 vaccine procurement should make it easier for the private sector and local government units to secure their own supplies of the vaccine, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Tuesday.

"You're caught between the devil and the deep blue sea... Ano bang gusto natin, 'yung pandemic nandiyan maraming namamatay, maraming nahihirapan at nasisira ang ekonomiya? Or payagan na natin sila dito sa immunization?" Sotto said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV.

"Baka raw [may] safety concerns, baka may side effect. Ano ang gusto ninyo doon, 'yung may side effect o may pandemic? You got to choose," he added.

Sotto made this position after he and several other senators during a Senate hearing on Monday urged the Executive officials in charge of the pandemic response to streamline the vaccine procurement process for private firms and LGUs.

The Food and Drug Administration, on the other hand, maintained that the vaccine manufacturers have to deal with the national government and these sectors through a tripartite agreement because the products will only be distributed using an emergency use authorization (EUA).

The EUA is not tantamount to market authorization, according to FDA director general Eric Domingo.

"Ang Emergency Use Authorization po, the FDA allows the use of a product that is still under development. Nasa kalagitnaan pa lang po ng Phase 3 trial ito kaya lang mayroon pong kondisyon, mayroon tayong pandemic," Domingo said.

"Pag ganoon po, ang mga kompanya hindi rin po sila nagte-take ng responsibility para sa kanilang produkto. Ang national government po will take responsibility for using a product that is still under development," he added.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon saw this a "stumbling block" to achieving the plan of the government to inoculate 5o to 70 million individuals against COVID-19 within the year.

“They have a better chance of achieving their targets if they lift the restriction that they set that prevents local chief executives and the private sector from buying vaccines directly from the manufacturers. It will facilitate a speedy purchase of the much-needed vaccines,” Drilon said in a statement.

The Senate Committee of the Whole will hold another hearing on the government's COVID-19 immunization plan on Friday. To be invited are members of the private sector and representatives of local government units, according to Sotto.

The Philippines has so far recorded a total of 489,736 COVID-19 cases with 9,416 deaths and 458,206 recoveries. There are still 22,114 active cases in the country. —KBK, GMA News